Bahrain Shia opposition leader ‘arrested’ over anti-govt comments

The leader of Bahrain’s main Shia opposition group Al-Wefaq has been detained for interrogation over comments made during a religious sermon. The move has sparked an anti-government rally, with supporters demanding his release.

"Al Wefaq National Islamic Society said its
secretary-general, Sheik Ali Salman, is considered arrested after
the series of illegal measures taken to call him in for
interrogation at the Criminal investigations Department
(CID)," the opposition movement said in a statement on its
website.

“Salman has been transferred from the CID to the Public
Prosecution Office for interrogation.”

The Gulf kingdom’s Interior Ministry said that Salman had been
questioned over comments he made one day earlier in a religious
sermon.

He has been accused of “inciting hatred” of the
government and "promoted rioting and vandalism,” the
ministry stated.

News of Salman’s arrest has sparked protests against authorities
in the Sunni-ruled state. Supporters of the opposition leader
gathered outside his home to express anger over the move. Some
held pictures of Salman while “demanding his immediate
release,” according to a statement from Al-Wefaq.

Salman’s Saturday arrest is the opposition leader’s second
detention in nearly two months.

In November, the country’s public prosecutor charged the
opposition leader with insulting the interior ministry. The
prosecution accused him of “denigrating and disparaging the
[ministry]” by alleging human rights violations conducted on
protesters by the police during a speech at the opening of the
Revolution Museum. Authorities claimed Salman’s speech was
“packed with lies...which represented an affront to the
status of the police.”

Salman was released after five hours of questioning, which he
said was “a clear violation of our political work and our
freedom.”

Al-Wefaq, Bahrain’s top opposition group, is demanding democracy
and a constitutional monarchy in the country, which is run by the
Sunni royal family.

The group initiated protests in 2011, demanding political change
and a larger Shia influence in the country led by the Sunni
Al-Khalifa dynasty. The group insists that it rejects violence,
but Gulf state authorities blame the movement for the unrest
which has shaken the country for almost three years.

A month-long protest that started in February 2011 was dispersed
in mid-March during a deadly crackdown.

Over 80 people have been killed since the protests began,
according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

Bahrain is a staunch US ally and home to the US Navy’s Fifth
Fleet. The tiny Gulf kingdom is ruled by a Sunni monarchy,
although over 75 percent of the population is Shia.